Friday, March 4, 2011

Album Review: Saigon - The Greatest Story Never Told

yeah, well - this guy Saigon was all kinds of hype for 6 years and years. were expectations high? well, not really - but he was from a era in rap that i really miss. i remember sitting down with a new album, preparing for a weekend of heat around town during the afternoon - hopefully getting out of the house with music in a format that i can get out of the house with - but if not, what followed normally would go something like this,
1) crank it up
2) get the head action going
3) start reading everything i can about the album
4) listen to it again
5) read the entire album jacket, and go "yeah, that's what i thought... no surprises there" - i'd think this is something like tiger woods would go through as he planned his approach to the green when he was in his prime
6) by now i'd have formed all my opinions and i'm throwing them bones
7) pick a favourite track that i feel connects with something significant in my life, and memorize the lyrics

its good to finally get an album with which i can rediscover that process. but dont get me wrong, the album's not perfect. the biggest issue is that the best track he recorded in years is not on it, but there's a link if you click the picture... it's so cold.

one thing thats absolutely dope is that with each collab, you can tell that Saigon was after a certain sounds from ripped classic choruses on Kanye's It's Alright - a classic kanye dusty crate-rape , to smokey sunday sunrise beach front cruise track, Better Way featuring Layzie Bone. The intro even has FatmanScoop over a contra-adventure island style string beat. it's so classic, it's inshane. did i mention Qtip? (hope it doesnt make him wanna release another album, though).

saigon maybe a classic brooklyn-brawler rapper, but this album speaks volumes about rap and how it's change - there's even a track with genre-crossing Dj Colbert.

one message i really dig about the album is that you might make a casual greeting with your friends as you part, but the truth, guy, is that there arent many people out there - and for many, none - who can replace your homies. shit, i dont feel like doing jack if my trusted homies arent up for any... and that's where THE GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD be at.

best track on the album: it's not on the album, but there's a link to the "It's So Cold"-video on youtube over hurr